Speaking up, leaving or keeping silent: racialized employees in the Swedish elderly care sector

When encountering problems and dissatisfaction in the workplace, employees may choose between three strategies: voice; exit; or silence. Using survey data and interview material from a study of employees in an elderly care organization in Sweden, this article investigates the workers’ perceptions of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Work, employment and society employment and society, 2017-12, Vol.31 (6), p.954-971
Main Authors: Behtoui, Alireza, Boréus, Kristina, Neergaard, Anders, Yazdanpanah, Soheyla
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Childbirth & labor
Cultural differences
Cultural values
Discontent
Elder care
Employees
exit
Occupational status
Older people
Power
Prospects
Racial differences
Racialization
racialized workers
silence
Situation
Situational factors
Sweden
voice
Workers
Workplaces
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Summary:When encountering problems and dissatisfaction in the workplace, employees may choose between three strategies: voice; exit; or silence. Using survey data and interview material from a study of employees in an elderly care organization in Sweden, this article investigates the workers’ perceptions of the eligibility and prospects of these strategies and which individual characteristics and situational factors might affect them. The focus is on racialized workers (operationalized through their region of birth) who, according to earlier studies, are less likely than other employees to choose voice behaviour. Contrary to some earlier studies, the results here attribute such a propensity to the importance of power differences across ‘racial hierarchies’ rather than to differences in cultural values. Individuals in this (racialized) category have a lower occupational status, earn less and experience less favourable relationships with their managers.
ISSN:0950-0170
1469-8722
1469-8722
DOI:10.1177/0950017016667042